01/04/2025
"While going through some old files, I came across a text I wrote back in 2019 — meant for you, my followers here. I never shared it at the time, but reading it again now, with the political leaders we have today, it feels more relevant than ever. So I’ve decided to finally post it."
2019- The year I lost my passion.
This has been a strange year. A year of contemplation — partly by choice, partly due to circumstances. It gave me time to think, to observe… and to reflect on one painful question:
How is it possible that I no longer enjoy photographing nature?
I still love the environment. I’m still that animal geek who gets excited whenever I learn something new about anything wild. And there’s still so much to learn. So how did I lose the drive to just be out there?
At the start of the year, I told myself it was because of my two adopted dogs — they needed time and attention. But that wasn’t it. I still prefer natural surroundings over human ones. Sadly, I have to admit: I lost my optimism.
I used to believe things would get better. That my images could break through the indifference and attitude of my fellow humans. I avoided political messages on my website and social channels. But as many of my followers have noticed, I hardly take photos anymore.
In the past, being behind the camera or out in nature was the only time I truly felt present. Those were the moments without a yesterday or a tomorrow — just now. That feeling has faded. A major turning point was how the Netherlands treated one of its rare natural wonders: the Oostvaardersplassen. I started to hate walking there.
Anger took over. And then came shame. Shame for being part of the destruction of our environment. Because living in this socio-economic system means I’m just as guilty as anyone else.
The idea that we are gods of our environment — that we somehow have more right to exist than any other creature on the planet — has always felt wrong to me. Just as wrong as slavery once was, or the belief that men were worth more than women not that long ago.
The truth is: we can’t continue this way. We need to stop talking, stop consuming, stop reproducing the way we do.
There are simply too many of us on this planet. And as we live longer and want more comfort, each person consumes more resources per day — for far longer than people did 20 or 30 years ago.
And since most of us equate value with money, the destruction is accelerating. Often, it's not even intentional. Just look at how we bring home our groceries — everything is double or triple packaged. The food industry replaces natural ingredients with things like palm oil, not for our health, but for profit.
The list is endless. Shell asking you to pay 1 cent extra to plant trees somewhere? What kind of cynical marketing move is that? Pretending to care about the environment while charging us even more? And we all just buy into it. As individuals, we feel powerless.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve witnessed what we’re losing — not just in my own country, but in every place I’ve visited more than once. And the pace of loss keeps accelerating.
I once believed we would find a way to preserve what’s left of our wild world. Now, I’m not so sure.
